by Gabriela Geselowitz
by Gabriela Geselowitz
The theatre scene in Chicago is vibrant and ambitious, and its workforce is tightknit and supportive. With the non-profit Season of Concern, working artists embody both as they show up for one another and accept the help of their community when they need it.
Season of Concern was formed in 1987, the "Season" referring to the unfolding AIDS crisis – a time some in the theatre hoped would last one season. One of its founders was the late Dr. Fergus G. (Tad) Currie, then Equity's Midwest Regional director, who ran operations out of Equity's office.
For the first decade, SOC's sole focus was HIV/AIDS, but as support and treatment for the disease grew, it expanded its work to support the Chicago theatrical community in other ways as well. Chicago theatregoers are accustomed to seeing actors in the lobby after a show with a bucket, a major way that Season of Concern fundraises.
SOC recognizes the challenges that come with working as a theatre artist in a difficult industry, and reminds artists that they are never alone.
The Biscotto-Miller Fund
When it first formed, Seasons of Concern absorbed an HIV/AIDS Charity that had started two years earlier: The Biscotto-Miller Fund. Named for two Chicago theatre community members, Equity members Tom Biscotto and J. Pat Miller, the Fund began raising money to directly benefit AIDS patients in 1985, extremely early in the epidemic.
"The fund started by passing the hat at a funeral, about as grassroots as you can get," said Season of Concern Managing Director Christopher Pazdernik.
These days, the Fund continues to assist theatre workers living with HIV/AIDS but also cares for those with other health issues – physical or mental. The Biscotto-Miller Fund provides the financing, and the Central Office of the Entertainment Community Fund manages the cases.
Equity member Teressa LaGamba is a recent beneficiary of the Biscotto-Miller Fund. She loves working in Chicago, but her career ground to a halt last year when infectious mononucleosis and strep throat led to complications, exacerbated by her intense work schedule.
"I was so burnt out from doing eight shows a week and hopping from mid-contract job to job, my immune system couldn't fight the virus," she said.
This was on top of a pre-existing blood-clotting disorder that triggered a pulmonary embolism; she was unable to audition for over six months, let alone perform.
When Pazdernik saw LaGamba's GoFundMe for her mounting expenses, they reached out and encouraged her to apply for aid from Season of Concern.
"I was hesitant at first as I didn't feel worthy, but as things got increasingly more difficult with my health, I applied, and it has kept me afloat while I got back on my feet," she said. Applying was simple, starting with a simple letter from her doctor outlining her health challenges, and everything flowed simply from there.
"I would not have gotten through this last year without it."
Arik Vega (left) and Equity member Kelly Anne Clark solicit the audience for Season of Concern before Sister Act at Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago. Courtesy of Drury Lane Theatre.
Now, LaGamba still has bad days, but the good days are increasing, and she is grateful to the Biscotto-Miller Fund in helping her reclaim them.
"Illness makes you forget who you are," she said. "Support like Season of Concern is an unbelievable tool to help aid in returning back to yourself. It has allowed me to exist in this capitalist society more softly while I heal from being in constant survival mode as an artist who grew up with very little monetarily."
LaGamba wants to spread the word about Season of Concern and the Biscotto-Miller Fund, not just as thanks but also to destigmatize asking for help.
"I hope actors know that we all deserve help from our community in times of need," she said, "The first step is just reminding yourself that you're worthy enough to ask for it."
The Malcolm Ewen Emergency Fund
Malcolm Ewen was active in the theatrical community in many ways, including serving as an Equity stage manager councilor and on the board of Seasons of Concern. When Ewen died in 2019, he bequeathed money to the non-profit he cared for so deeply, which seeded Seasons of Concern's newest initiative, the Malcolm Ewen Emergency Fund. Now operating on donations, it offers financial aid to theatre community members who have been without work unrelated to health issues, and there is no income requirement to benefit.
Long before reaching out to Season of Concern as an adult, Equity member Ariana Burks recalled holding the donation bucket starting back in 2012. (L: Photo by Elise Burks. R: Photo by Liz Stenholt Photography.)
"57% of artists are concerned about being able to afford basic necessities – food, rent, medical care," said Pazdernik. "Just acknowledging that anybody in this industry lives on a razor's edge of balancing their finances means that all it takes is one thing to really throw someone into a scary place, and so it's important to understand that those emergencies are not always medically related."
The timing of the Fund's launch meant that in the beginning, money went to artists who lost work due to COVID. Equity member Ariana Burks has benefited from the Fund on three occasions throughout the years, the first time being 2020 when she had moved out of her mother's home and saw all her jobs disappear in the pandemic.
Burks was familiar with Season of Concern from working in Chicago since her theatre career began in childhood. In fact, she had held the bucket out for audience members in the past. When SOC's then–Managing Director Michael Ryczek would come speak to her company about the organization, he would always make it clear that he was not just asking for them to do their part, but offering that anyone reach out if they wanted help. When she needed assistance, she knew exactly where to turn.
"As a working artist, having that support from my community with no judgment, people understanding and being there to help honestly was life changing," she said. "It really made me feel supported and taken care of and proud to be a Chicagoan, especially a Chicago theatre artist."
These days, Burks is working and away from Chicago on the national tour of Suffs, but she thinks constantly of how special Chicago theatre is. She feels the Malcolm Ewen Emergency Fund enabled her to stay in the business – and she has many friends in the same boat.
"Season of Concern is the backbone of our community," she said.
Season of Concern team members at the Chicago AIDS Run & Walk in 2025.
AIDS Walk/Run
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago launched its annual AIDS Run & Walk back in 2001, and from the very beginning, Seasons of Concern has organized members of the theatrical community to participate.
The Run & Walk has a special structure, where qualifying organizations have the power to distribute the vast majority of the funds they raise themselves. And so, Season of Concern is able to offer funding to partner organizations doing HIV/AIDS work beyond the theatre community. Over 25 years, AIDS Run & Walk Chicago as a whole has raised over $6 million via thousands of participants; Season of Concern's team is often one of the top fundraising groups there.
Mark David Kaplan is an Equity Central Regional Board member who also serves as vice president of the board of Season of Concern. While all the work SOC does is sacred to him, the Run & Walk is a crucial reminder of the crisis that started the work and is still core to the organization's mission. The money the event raises is crucial, but he returns year after year for the sense of community. Kaplan describes the Run & Walk as a big party where he connects with old friends and new.
"It's a great mix of people from all age brackets, all identities, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds," he said. "It's this giant fest where everybody shakes their head and says, ‘Yes.'"
Kaplan participated in ACT UP protests in Chicago near where the Run & Walk takes place today, and he lost several friends to AIDS. He always makes a point to show someone the nearby AIDS memorial.
"There's always something to teach somebody, and at the AIDS Walk that happens every year," he said.
'Tis Always the Season
You don't need to wait for an actor to hold out a hat to donate to Season of Concern; a credit card and internet connection work just fine. For a special evening, anyone in Chicago on April 27 is invited to attend the organization's next fundraiser, the concert Barbra & Judy Together Again, featuring impersonators of the legendary divas. And the organization welcomes volunteers for events, the spirit of community that has kept it going.
"It's the little engine that could for 40 years," said Kaplan.
Banner image: Season of Concern team members at the Chicago AIDS Run & Walk in 2025.